What is the point of so-called “Reality TV”? It teaches us absolutely nothing about reality, real life or humanity.
Greedy self-absorbed individuals with questionable intelligence and minimal, if any, self-respect, self-control and common sense are put in staged situations and told to “act outrageously”. All we learn are that people are stupid and will do anything for attention and money.
We can learn more about reality and humanity from one episode of a scripted drama or comedy than in an entire season of any Reality TV garbage.
While the motto of the father of Reality TV programs is “Outwit, Outplay and Outlast”, the real motto of this genre is “Embarrass, Humiliate and Abuse”. Reality TV has absolutely no worth or value – no educational value, no entertainment value, no “socially redeeming” value.
Back in 2008 USA TODAY did a cover story on reality tv with interviews of panels of “stars” from various shows of the genre. When a panel from cable channel VH1 was asked about the most memorable moments from their shows, Flavor Flav said, “One of the most memorable moments in the history of reality TV was when that girl shit on my floor.” Someone else responded, “No, I’d say it’s Mini-Me pissing on the carpet” from THE SURREAL LIFE. Need I say more?
A result of this vile genre is the creation of a new breed of “celebrities” – self-important narcissistic buffoons with no talent who are merely “famous for being famous”.
One of the best descriptions ever of Reality TV and the making of its pathetic “stars” into “celebrities” appeared in an episode of the BBC tv show JUDGE JOHN DEED, starring Martin Shaw as the judge, over a decade ago. In “Popular Appeal” an angry contestant in a British show called “The Dungeon” kills another competitor on camera, and the show's producers face charges of manslaughter in Deed's court. The prosecution contends that they acted recklessly and engineered conflict in order to get higher ratings. A psychiatrist working for the station that airs the show testifies that the producers purposely look for psychologically flawed “contestants” who can be easily manipulated and angered, which clearly represents what Reality TV producers do in “real life”.
Judge Deed, speaking to the producer of the TV show after the jury has returned its verdict, correctly observes –
“Celebrity: the pursuit of the talentless by the mindless. It's a common disease of the twenty-first century. It pollutes our society, and diminishes all who seek it and all who worship it, and you must bear part of the responsibility for foisting this empty nonsense onto a gullible public.”
Just to be clear, when I refer to “reality tv” I am not talking about legitimate talent contests or home improvement shows likes those on HGTV or DIY. You know what shows I am talking about.
Television can change the world. Pioneers like Norman Lear and the creative staff behind M*A*S*H changed the world for the better in the early 1970s. And same-sex marriage would not have become legally accepted without Ellen DeGeneres and shows like WILL AND GRACE and MODERN FAMILY. Today reality tv garbage is resulting in the decline and deterioration of our society.
In her excellent and spot on blog post “The Danger of Reality TV” Canadian Rhonda Scharf correctly observes -
“The reality of reality shows is that they effectively affect our society. Television tells us what is normal and accepted and eventually it worms its way into our subconscious.
These messages are wrong. They instill a workplace mentality of winning at all costs. They have no compassion, no understanding, and no reality about the world we actually live in.”
A news item from 2012 reported –
“The Girls Scouts are warning of the dangers of reality tv after a study by the Girl Scouts Research Institute concluded that reality shows are having a negative effect on young women.
The study found that reality television ‘more frequently portrays girls and women in competition with one another rather than in support or collaboration. This perpetuates a 'mean-girl' stereotype and normalizes this behavior among girls.’
The study concluded: ‘Teen girls who regularly view reality tv accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression, and bullying in their own lives, and measure their worth primarily by their physical appearance.’"
Reality TV is a result of, and a major contributor to the ongoing continuance of, the “dumbing down of America”.
Want to know how truly dangerous Reality TV is? It is partially responsible for the death of the Republican Party and for putting the absolute worst person possible - a mentally unstable narcissistic sociopath and cartoon clown who is completely unfit to serve in any elected position of power – in the White House. Of course, I am talking about Donald J Trump. By giving undeserved credibility to Trump via THE APPRENTICE Reality TV can claim credit for the substantial damage done to America and American democracy by the Trump presidency.
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